The pain of a road death never goes away - Dad
TEN years on after three men, two of them cousins, were killed in a head-on road smash on November 8, 2006, one of their fathers is appealing to all drivers to slow down, saying how the pain never goes away.
The three young men died after the car in which they were travelling collided with a small tipper truck near the entrance to Ballinrobe racecourse. The carnage was so horrific that the first person who arrived at the scene could not bring himself to look into the wreckage.
Road traffic crashes are the second leading cause of death globally among young people aged five to 29 years and the third leading cause of death among people aged 30 to 44 years. Road traffic crashes kill 1.2 million people every year and injure or disable as many as 50 million more.
Behind each statistic there is a story of a father or mother, son or daughter, brother or sister, grandchild, colleague, classmate or friend whose life is transformed in an instant by a road crash.
Mr. Dominic Morley says of his son Aaron: “I try to keep his memory alive by writing, by living and keeping busy. I feel different about the world even in subtle ways. His death has given me a certain kind of sadness that moved into something bigger, engulfing the universe.
“My memories of he are what is left. Of course he was my son, and though ordinary to the casual observer, he was mine, and the loss remains unparalleled.”
He continued: “There has been some improvement in Ireland since, for which I am grateful, but my son Aaron and his two friends, Patrick and Jonathan, will be forever missed and the pain is impounded everyday as I hear of more lives needlessly lost on our roads.
“My appeal is simple: Please, please slow down, wear seat belts and don't ever drink and drive, and get to live your life to the full.
“We have to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Families have had enough heartache. In today's world social networking lets us expand beyond our homes and families and yet we may never realise when a post goes silent because the voice is no longer with us - please use your social media accounts to pass this message.”
On Sunday next, November 20, we will see a day of remembrance being held for road collision victims across Ireland. In Mayo, a service will take place at Knock Shrine at 12 noon to remember those who were injured or lost their lives in road collisions and to recognise the work carried out by the emergency services. After the service all are invited for refreshments and an opportunity to mix in the rest and care centre in Knock and if you don’t make the service you are still welcome to meet people who also have been affected by road trauma.